T_T

Episode Summary

Picking up from where the previous episode ended, Shinkurou went back to the Inner Sanctuary alone after reminiscing the good times spent with Murasaki.

This isn't NFS, riiiight...?

Upon learning that Shinkurou acted on his own, Benika went, no… drove to the Inner Sanctuary to find him. She literally drove INTO the Inner Sacntuary alright!

Simply awesome!

This time, instead of getting beaten up like a helpless puppy, Shinkurou FINALLY used his Houzuki-ryuu to defeat Ryuuji! Same goes for Yayoi as she defeated Rin using the same style learnt from Shinkurou. Remember episode 10 where she exchanged blows with Shinkurou? Yeap, that’s when Shinkurou taught her this invincible technique!

Is it me or does Houzuki-ryuu look a bit like the drunken fist? The way Shinkurou moved about looked like he was drunk though. It really reminded me of Jackie Chan and his moves in the Drunken Master.

FINALLY! I can't get enough of this.

For those who want to see the monstrous blade… Well, you certainly won’t be disappointed! It finally came out after Shinkurou witnessed Benika get stabbed by Ryuuji. Unable to control himself, he slashed Ryuuji a few times with the blade and was just about to deal him a fatal stab when Benika stopped him. What?! I really wanted to see that the sick brother of Murasaki get slashed into a million pieces!

Now… back to the key question. Did Murasaki leave Kuhouin in the end?

Mata ne~

The answer is… no.

Although she expressed her wish to leave the Inner Sanctuary, she didn’t want to leave the Kuhouins. As a woman of the Kuhouins, she wanted to change the family’s rotten tradition from within. Shinkurou, respecting Murasaki’s decision, left the Kuhouins with Benika and Yayoi with a peaceful feeling in his heart.

Thoughts

A very fitting ending indeed! It makes sense for Murasaki to stay because she is still a Kuhouin, no matter what. I’m not saying that she can’t survive outside, just that with Shinkurou being busy with his school and his various dangerous jobs, it would be really hard to take care of her over a long period of time. Anyway, good thing that she was allowed to leave the Inner Sanctuary.

With Murasaki’s extremely matured thinking, I wasn’t surprised when she said she wanted to change the tradition from within. To her, leaving the family is a sign of cowardice. It means running away from one’s problems without having the courage to face them head on. As expected of Murasaki, eh?

The end? T_T

Watching this episode only left me with nothing but satisfaction. Watch out for the very fluid animation of Shinkurou’s and Yayoi’s Houzuki-ryuu fighting style! The seamless transition between those 2 parallel fight scenes was simply amazing.

Erm… now that I think about it… there are a few illogical scenes in this episode too… For example, Yayoi’s recovery was a bit too fast. And when Benika was stabbed, she looked like she was going to die. But the next moment she was standing upright (on her very high heels) like nothing has happened! But… if you want to talk about ridiculous stuff, the monstrous blade hidden neatly in Shinkurou’s arms is ridiculous enough. >.<

Ah well, being able to see Houzuki-ryuu in action and that awesome monster blade more than makes up for the illogical stuff. LOL

I wish the series was longer though.

Episode Summary

In this episode, Shinkurou, Yayoi and Benika went to the Kuhouin’s to get Murasaki out of the cursed family as Shinkurou believed that it wasn’t her will to go back to the family. Of course, their rescue operation was not a smooth one as they were interrupted by Ryuuji’s personal bodyguards. As expected, Yayoi was not match for Rin and was the first one to be beaten down.

Resigned to fate

When Shinkurou and Benika finally met Murasaki, Shinkurou was really let down to learn that Murasaki refused to go back with him. Her eyes were full of… despair. Sigh, I guess despair is what you feel when you’ve resigned to your fate.

Biting the hand that taught

Also, it was revealed Ryuuji is very skillful in fighting. Surprise surprise, his teacher was none other than Benika herself. She must’ve been really frustrated to have her own student turning his back on her. Ugh, how ungrateful of Ryuuji!

Memories

Of course, their mission ended in failure and Benika prioritised saving Yayoi before rescuing Murasaki. But Shinkurou, being his defiant self, went back to the Inner Sanctuary on his own after seeing the photos taken at Murasaki’s Shichi-Go-San.

Thoughts

Definitely my favourite episode so far! It sort of depresses me watching such a young girl resigning to her fate. Also, this episode gives us more insight into Ryuuji and the Kuhouins.

Yes, I’m a sucker for depressing animes. I also like the simple yet gloomy piano pieces that echoed sadly throughout the recent episodes.

Ooh... Psychotic! I like XD

Speaking of Rin, she reminds me of the psychotic doll Suigintou from Rozen Maiden. I just can’t get enough of her psychotic smile, her cold-blooded demeanor and her laughter that sends shivers down one’s spine…

I can't believe it!

You should’ve seen her expression when Shinkurou landed a slap on her face. “How-dare-you-slap-me-you-incompetent-brat!” was written all over her face, lol.

OMG, I think she IS my favourite character of this series! If you know other psychotic characters in other animes, be sure to let me know!

Ocha! Subs Kurenai?

Hmm… seeing that BSS hasn’t released this episode… I was wondering if I’d speedsub this and the remaining episodes…

Joudan joudan~ Jikan ga nai dakara… (Just joking, I don’t have time anyway)

XD

Poor Murasaki

Never would’ve thought the Kuhouins are such a fucked-up family. I didn’t see incest coming my way though. Who would’ve thought the Kuhouins practice inbreeding between direct siblings. Moreover, the story takes place in modern Japan. Inbreeding in this time and era is just too unbelievable. But this is an anime (well it was adapted from a light novel) we’re talking about so… logic could use some shutting down.

I was a little disappointed that Shinkurou didn’t manage to prevent Murasaki’s brother from taking her away. I mean, he has this godlike power in him but it just didn’t show in this episode. I know he mentioned that he wanted to become strong by his own strength rather than relying on his weapon, but one would’ve thought that he would give his best when he was on the verge of losing someone important.

It just feels wrong when Murasaki’s brother said “She is a woman fated to give birth to my children, as I am her brother”. And just what does a seven-year-old know about giving birth to children and kowtowing to one’s fate? Sigh.